A five-week survey has recorded more than 200 physical and verbal attacks on staff at 15 Otago schools. In 45 cases teachers reported being sworn at, and in more than 25 cases they were called names. President of the Otago Primary Principals' Association, Shelley Wilde, said it organised the survey because it wanted to find out how prevalent violence was in their schools. Teachers told the survey most incidents caused them only minor discomfort, but in a few cases they expected it would affect them for a week or more. Last month, a national survey of primary teachers and principals found a significant increase in violence in schools.

Source: Stuff July 26, 2020 22:52 UTC